40th Anniversary Party

**PLEASE NOTE** Advanced tickets are no longer on sale. If you wish to join us Tuesday evening please email bikeinfo@massbike.org the names of you and your guests to purchase tickets at the door. **

Join us to sample food and drink from across Massachusetts as we take a look at MassBike's 40 years of building better bicycling in the Commonwealth. The evening will feature a silent auction with rare and unique cycling items plus a fantastic raffle.

Executive Director Richard Fries will serve as MC to lead a number of special guests in sharing their stories and involvement with MassBike over the years. Guests of honor will be presented with Lifetime Achievement awards to celebrate their impact on the bicycling community.

The evening will begin with remarks from opening guest speaker Billy Starr, founder of the Pan-Mass Challenge, the most successful athletic fundraising event in the world. The PMC donates 100 percent of every rider-raised dollar to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and since 1980 has contributed $547 million to cancer research. An avid cyclist, skier, and racquet player, Starr has ridden in, and fundraised for, his own event for each of its 38 years.

Featured speaker of the evening will be award winning writer Jason Gay of the Wall Street Journal. He has written for publications including Vogue, GQ, Rolling Stone and The New York Observer. Born and raised in Massachusetts, he now lives in Brooklyn with his family and a passive-aggressive cat. He claims he could beat Tim Johnson in a cyclocross race if he only had the right shoes.

Lifetime Achievement Award categories will include:

The Thomas Menino Award is given to the person inside of government that demonstrated the political bravery necessary to promote bicycling in a car-first culture.

Nominees

Joseph P. Kennedy II - While serving as the representative of the U.S. Eighth Congressional District, he drafted the "Bike Bill" in 1991 to devote 3 percent of the Federal Highway Trust Fund to improve bicycling. This was the first attempt to devote any federal funds to bicycling in post World War II America.

Sen. William Brownsberger - A former selectman and state representative, he pedaled to Beacon Hill year round. That continued after he became a state senator, repeatedly filed and fought for passage of pro-bike legislation.

Rep. Anne Paulsen - She rose from the Belmont school committee and board of selectmen to become a state rep, where she served for more than a decade. Having led the Beacon Hill bike caucus, she filed and passed several pieces of Legislation including measures that required bike accommodation on every new state road.

Nicole Freedman - As a competitive cyclist, she was a national champion and Olympian. Then she became an urban planner. After Bicycling Magazine named Boston one of the worst cities for bikes, Mayor Menino tasked her as the bike czarina. She re-made Boston, then worked in Seattle, and returned to Newton, where is continuing to do great things for bikes.

The Art Longsjo Award will be presented to the individual who has dedicated the most to promote cycling as a sport. As Bill Strickland wrote: "Only overload your jersey pockets for someone else."

Nominees

Dick Ring - A national caliber athlete in both cycling and speedskating, he unpinned his number while at the start line of the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic when an announcer failed to arrive. That launched more than 50 wonderful years of legendary announcing, coaching and promoting of the sport of cycling.

Diane Fortini - Having been a rider, a promoter, a shop owner, and most notably perhaps the nation's most respected official, she has been an organizational anchor for the sport in New England. A founding board member of the New England Bicycle Racing Association.

Paul Boudreau - He raced well. But he organized better. He helped create Essex County Velo, founded the Gran Prix of Gloucester. which remains the crown jewel of New England 'cross, and created the Beverly Gran Prix, which has become one of region's premier criteriums.

John Allis - Born in Boston, he started racing bicycles while at Princeton. He was part of the first ever U.S. team to compete at the World Championships since the era of Major Taylor. While in France, he won an amateur classic, a feat that was noted in The International Herald Tribune. Upon returning home he made the Olympic team and won a national road title before helping to found Wheelworks. But he is fondly known for training hundreds, perhaps thousands of Harvard students, smoothly ripping their legs off aboard a fixed gear.

The Col. Albert Pope Award is given to the business leader that has demonstrated the most support for bicycle advocacy through a variety of gifts.

Nominees

Clint Paige - He is also celebrating a 40th celebration of the founding of Wheelworks, a shop routinely cited as one of America's best. Despite a reputation for being parsimonious, his generosity with advocates, clubs, event promoters and entrepreneurs - at times funding entire payrolls of struggling framebuilders - is legendary.

Tom Henry - A former board member of MassBike, he revolutionized the bicycle retail business in one of the most competitive markets. After an education in a seminary, he became a shrewd business leader who built an employee-owned enterprise that now has seven stores. And he remains a consistent supporter of advocacy.

Charlie Storey - President of Harpoon Brewery, Storey identified cycling as a key market when other brewers chased stadium sports. Harpoon supported charity events such as The Pan Mass Challenge, the MS Challenge and Best Buddies, along with cyclo-cross events, mountain bike festivals, triathlons, and even their famous Brewery-to-Brewery ride that went from Boston to Vermont. It is fair to say that Charlie Storey greased the wheels of bicycle advocacy .... with great beer.

Richard Olken - The impact of Richard Olken is hard to measure. The son of Ben Olken, he grew up in the family shop, The Bicycle Exchange, which opened in 1934 in Harvard Square. The Olken's imported Raleigh's to the U.S., bringing "English" racers to a land of balloon tire paperboy bikes. The shop also supported the fabled "Raleigh Boys", the first post World War II cycling team led by John Allis, Dave Chauner and John Howard. The team dominated American racing and led the first foray of Yankees to the Milk Race, where they earned the respect of a young race official named Phil Liggett, who helped later Americans race in Europe. After the Bi-Ex closed, Olken was tapped by the bicycle industry to lead Bikes Belong, an industry lobbying group he ran from the Boston area. That group would go on to become the Boulder-based People for Bikes.

The Massachusetts Bicycle Club Award is dedicated in the spirit of the founders of the League of American Wheelmen and the state's first bicycle clubs. This award is given to the bicycle organization and/or event that has done the most to promote the culture and sport of bicycling.

Nominees

Charles River Wheelmen - Founded in 1966, this organization guided Massachusetts bike advocacy, education and even promotion through the bicycle renaissance of the 1970s. With thousands of members, the Charles River Wheelmen continues to provide a gateway to cycling lifestyle in Eastern Massachusetts.

Northampton Cycling Club - Founded in 1999, this organization initially surged to prominence as a racing club. But through youth programs, beginner training, advocacy, and such events as its September BikeFest, the Northampton Cycling Club has provided the cultural compass for all things cycling in the Pioneer Valley.

Berkshire Cycling Association - One of the few clubs to belong to both the LAB and USA Cycling, this club has worked for decades to promote both racing and touring in the Berkshires. But their particular focus is to introduce juniors and women to bicycling. Their summer "cyclo-cross" series for kids engages hundreds of youth.

Pan-Mass Challenge - Founded in 1980, this event set the worldwide standard for charity rides. With a mission to end cancer through the work of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, the Pan Mass Challenge has provided a gateway to a cycling lifestyle for tens of thousands of citizens, most of whom are Massachusetts residents.

The Paul Dudley White Award honors the individual who has given tirelessly to promote bicycle advocacy in the Bay State during their lifetime.

Nominees

John Allen - A founding member of MassBike, a steadfast commuter, a barnacle of advocacy, and regional historian of modern bike history, this Waltham resident literally did WRITE the book on bicycle riding. John Allen worked tirelessly from the 1970s on to get bicycles a share of the road.

Andrew Fischer - Also a founding member of MassBike, this Brookline resident pioneered bicycle law. This attorney defended victims of bicycle crashes nationwide but notably in Massachusetts. His work on state and local legislation established many of the protections bicycle rides enjoy to this day. The generosity of Andrew Fischer has been felt by bicycle groups throughout the Commonwealth.

Jessica Mink - Yet another founding member of MassBike, this Roslindale resident's strident street-level advocacy played a role in constructing many of the bike paths we all enjoy throughout Eastern Massachusetts. Jessica Mink played a pivotal role in the extension of the Charles River path, the development of the Minuteman Bikeway and the Neponset River Greenway. She serves to this day on the Massachusetts portion of the East Coast Greenway Alliance.

Al Lima - While Metro Boston has led the way in bicycle advocacy, we find brave leadership in other places such as Fall River. Such places have citizens who could most benefit from access to safe bicycling. In Fall River local historian and city planner first envisioned a bike path along the Quequechan River 25 years ago. Alfred J. Lima used all of his resources to push this project to its recent completion. Mr. Lima suffered a stroke recently. But he has recovered sufficiently to use the new trail, albeit with a cane. And yes, the trail now bears his name as the Alfred J. Lima Quequechan River Trail.

**PLEASE NOTE** Advanced tickets are no longer on sale. If you wish to join us Tuesday evening please email bikeinfo@massbike.org the names of you and your guests to purchase tickets at the door. **

Premium Supporter Tickets $100 (includes a VIP cocktail hour before the event with MassBike board and staff, special guests including featured speaker Jason Gay, and all award nominees, plus priority access to special 40th Anniversary items throughout the year)

MassBike Member Tickets $50

Non-MassBike Member Tickets $75 (Not a member? Don't worry! Your event ticket includes a 1 year membership with MassBike!)

All guests must be pre-registered for purposes of building security. Please have a valid photo ID to present at the front desk.